Under the Stars
by TohruHonda44
Summary: A IzumixMeroko fanfic. ONESHOT It features, who else, but Izumi and Meroko. It's set after the anime and is rated T as it contains fluff and I just wanted to be safe. Izumi realizes his feelings for Meroko, but how will he tell her, etc.


**Under the Stars**

_**Hey so this is my first Oneshot for Full Moon wo****Sagashite. I'd like to thank ****nevermore199 because they've been a really big inspiration to me. They've written a TON of Izumero fan fics and every single one of them have been a pleasure to read. So I'd like to say to you, I hope you like it! Again please go easy on me, as it is my first oneshot**_

_Rating: T- For fluff and I guess just overall themes._

_Setting: Takes place after the anime is over. I tried to make it mostly accurate, but sorry if it isn't completely right._

_Here it goes…..!_

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Several shooting stars sped across the dark night sky, their tails leaving remnant glittering streaks like thousands of grains of sand.

On a nearby hilltop sat Izumi. He held his chin in his hands and stared up at the sky. He felt like his heart was traveling at the same speed as the comets.

Then something caught his eye. On a far off hill top, he could see a spot of pink, pulsing and resting. But he could tell that something was different, especially in her stance.

'Meroko…' he thought to himself. 'Surely you aren't feeling the same way as I am…I won't let you. You have nothing to hurt for.'

But he knew that wasn't true. He had left her heart torn apart and almost unusable. She had entrusted her heart to him, several times, and each time he had simply thrown it away like it was trash.

'But…but why can't she know that I did it for her? We would have been punished for a relationship….why couldn't she see though? See that I love her…and always have.'

Izumi felt like he had climbed the tallest mountain for thinking of her. That was the affect she had on him, pure and utter bliss.

'She probably hates me…of course she does. Who wouldn't?'

Looking over at the opposing hilltop he saw that she was still there. He wondered what she was thinking about. Maybe it was Takuto. After all, he happened to know that he was her love now.

Izumi wanted to go over there. He wanted to hold her close and tell her everything was alright. He wanted to kiss away her tears and have her lean into him.

'Like that would ever happen. I should stick to business…speaking of that, wheres…?'

"Izumi!!"

He looked up to see Jonathan float in and hover beside him on the hill.

"You called for me?"

Izumi sighed. "Not really…I was just wondering what our next assignment is…"

"I don't think so…I think you want to see Me-chan don't youuuuu..??"

Izumi scowled at Jonathan and batted at the little shinigami with his hand. "No. I would like to know if we could get back to work. We've spent enough time here."

But Jonathan was preoccupied. "Heeey is that Me-chan on the hill??"

Izumi didn't answer right away. It was better if he didn't give Jonathan fuel to the fire.

"Weeeell then I'll leave you two alone then…"

Izumi was glad he left. He could be alone with his thoughts and feelings again.

He glanced over at the hill and was surprised to find it barren once more.

A thought of fear surged through him. Even if he wasn't going to speak to her, it gave him comfort to know that she was close by.

"Izumi….?"

He jerked his head up to see Meroko floating above him, then lightly coming to rest off to his side.

"Me…Me-chan?" He stuttered. He wasn't expecting this at all. He hid his face in his hands, feeling unworthy for her to talk to.

"What are you doing sitting out here? Shouldn't you be off with Jonathan somewhere?"

He could sense a tinge of annoyance in her voice. Possible jealousy?

Izumi put his hands at his side and turned to face her.

"No. It seems we've been given a temporary break from our shinigami duties …"

"Ah…"

"But what are you doing here?" Izumi asked inquisitively. "Shouldn't you be with Takuto?"

'Baka…' He scolded himself inside. 'You're just going to make her hurt more? Besides how do you know she'll even talk about it with you??'

But much to his surprise Meroko turned to him, gave him a weak smile and scooted closer to him.

"No…he's with Mitsuki now. He vowed to protect her and expressed his feelings for her and she returned them. I'm…I'm not a part of his life now." A few tears began to fall on her dress.

Izumi could tell it pained her to say these things. He lifted his hand and gently stroked her cheek, catching a few of her tears.

"I...Izumi..." She began.

He instinctively took his hand away, thinking he had overstepped his boundaries.

"I'm sorry Me-chan."

He got up to fly away, but then felt a small tug on his shirt.

"No…no wait please."

So he sat down next to her and waited for her to say something.

But she never did.

A few minutes of silence passed between them until Izumi finally spoke up with seriousness in his voice. It was time for him to tell her.

"Meroko I need to speak to you about something."

She stared into his eyes, waiting patiently. He all of a sudden felt nervous, almost confused.

'We seem to have switched roles…' He realized.

He cleared his throat and tried to start over. It was now or never. But when he glanced at her again something happened.

An overwhelming feeling of passion and lust overcame Izumi and he gripped Meroko's shoulders and pulled her to his chest.

"I love you Me-chan." He stated simply and brought his arms around her body and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Meroko's eyes filled up with tears once more and she quietly cried onto his body.

"Izumi…I…" She choked out. "That's what I want to talk to you about…"

Izumi quickly let go of her and proceeded to stroke her cheek again. All his attempts of restraining himself were lost. He wanted her and he hoped she wanted him too.

She quickly regained control of herself and got to the point.

"I…I loved Takuto. I tried with all my heart to at least. But each time I tried to get closer, I felt a tug at my heart."

"At times I felt hopeless, and lost. I…I had to find ways to keep myself from breaking down completely."

Meroko rested one of her hands on her upper arm, and Izumi suddenly knew why.

Taking her arm from her, he found deep scars all up and down it. He rested his head there, as if to try and heal them.

"And I knew…" she continued her voice shaky. "I knew that Takuto loved Mitsuki right from the start."

"So it was pointless of me to try and find feelings for someone who didn't love me, or who I couldn't love either. It seemed like it was all a game of pretend…but for whose benefit?"

Izumi listened patiently. 'Yes…' he thought. 'For whose benefit was it…?'

"I was just kidding myself." She said frankly. She reached up and this time stroked Izumi's golden hair and smiled.

Izumi held very still. He had been waiting for this for so long. He wanted to savor every bit of it.

"I was just hiding from myself that…I still loved you deep inside. And when I realized that, it felt like a big burden had been lifted from my body."

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After hearing this Izumi also felt the same lifting feeling.

He smiled at her and she smiled back.

Then he slowly moved closer to her.

Izumi crawled in front of her so that he was staring straight on into her eyes.

He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down onto the soft grass of the hill with him on top of her.

Izumi then moved his hands to both cheeks and cupped them. Leaning in, he placed a delicate yet passionate kiss on her lips.

Meroko closed her eyes taking in the kiss completely.

Izumi did as well and then rolled over so that she was on top of him.

"Oh Me-chan…" He whispered while burying his face in her strawberry hair.

But Meroko hesitated to respond. Something was troubling her.

"But Izumi….you say you love me now…then why did you refuse me all of those times back when we were still partners?"

Izumi held either side of her face and adopted a serious tone once more.

"I wanted to protect you…don't you see? We would've gotten punished by the boss if we were in a relationship. The only way to ensure that he wouldn't find out was to simply not be in one. So I refused you. I'm sorry that it hurt you so much. It caused me even greater pain to do it. And then I thought, 'If Me-chan was to have a different partner then she wouldn't get hurt or distracted.' But it was wrong of me to trick you like that. Will you ever forgive me?"

Again, silence came between them. But Izumi knew that he had caused Meroko so much pain in those early times. She couldn't just forgive him that easily.

"I've wanted you for so long now…the wait was getting to be intolerable…" He added, trying one last attempt at showing her.

"I understand now…It wasn't for personal gain or because you thought me troublesome."

"Not in the slightest my sweet Meroko." He confided and brought his lips to hers.

Then they didn't speak, silently enjoying each other's lips in another kiss.

After they broke apart, she rolled off him and lied down next to him.

She took his hand in hers and stared up at the sky, watching the stars shine in all their glory.

It was an unspoken agreement, a promise that they would never leave each other again. But Meroko spoke the words anyways.

"Will we always be together? For forever?"

" Forever." Izumi confirmed and wrapped his arms around her body once more.

**Alright I'm finished. I really hope you liked it, and I'm sorry if it was kind of boring or was an expected ending. I just LOVE Izumi and ****Meroko**** as a couple and thought I should contribute.**

**R&R too please.**** I need your feedback.**


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